


The Deceived Hero

by hirusen



Series: Stories Of Tumblr [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Bedrooms, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fantasy, Freedom, Language, Magic Isn't Common, Mild Gore, Mind Manipulation, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slavery, Tags Are Hard, Tumblr Prompt, Writing Prompt, kingdoms at war
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-09-30 02:29:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17215340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hirusen/pseuds/hirusen
Summary: You're a stereotypical hero going to fight a stereotypical villain. However, when you get to their dark, foreboding castle, you discover that it has been the villain who has been in the right the whole time, and the kingdom you hail from has been manipulating you your entire life.





	The Deceived Hero

He breathes a sigh heavily as he finally sees the place of his final task before him. Having traveled the whole of both kingdoms has proved just as challenging as his king had warned him during his last few days of training, but if it meant bringing peace to his home of Niunis, it was worth it. Striding forward, he noticed the slowly swirling black clouds above the castle, his face now fixed with a determined glare at them.  _If that bastard harms the people he's taken from my home, he's going to regret it._ His pace quickened, and soon enough, he was at the gates of the second kingdom.

He was surprised, however, that the gates were open. Which was strange; he was so sure that this man would have tightened up his security as the news of his deeds reached his end of the kingdoms.  _Perhaps he's just as arrogant as King Connor says._ Steeling himself in case this leads to an ambush, he places his right arm on the hilt of the blade on his waist and strides through the gates. And finds...

That the people are no where to be seen.

 _Where are they?_ Having been so sure that they would have been treated poorly, he expected them to be out in the cold, starving and grateful to see him there to save them. He glanced about as he slowly made his way to the castle, and--there! His eyes snapped to a window where a small face is peaking out from behind a curtain, a child's face. He smiles to them with a wave, but is puzzled when the young girl's face pales slightly as she ducks back behind the curtain. A door opens further in the little town area, this time a young boy pokes his head out.

"Hel--" He's interrupted by what he assumes to be the boy's mother yanking him back inside, and managing to hear her say, "No! Stay away from that demon!" Demon?  _Has he manipulated their minds?_ The so called 'king' of this half of Niunis had been said to have magical talents, and could manipulate the minds of people to see his side of things. Perhaps that's why he didn't see anyone when he first arrived; they've been turned against King Connor. Well...they'll be free of this man's magic once he slays him. As he gets closer to the vast castle, those black clouds overhead thicken, blocking out what little bit of the sky was left above this place.

And once again, he's stunned by this man's cockiness as he leaves the gates of his castle wide open. But, if he's being invited in, best to not be rude to his soon to be dead host. He found the throne room with relative ease, given the fact this asshole left all the doors leading to it open. And there, standing next to a throne identical to the one his king sits on, was his target.

"Evan Vissec!" Named man glanced to him with a...strangely soft gaze. Not a hard look, not a death glare, not even a overconfident smirk; just a soft, almost apologetic look. "Oh, Kai. Has Gulyar sent you to kill me?" Again, his voice holds no malice, no contempt; he sounds honestly hopeful that his king hasn't done what he just asked. "He has." Kai declared as he drew his sword, reaching behind himself to grasp the shield he had on his back. Evan's lips finally curl into a smile, but a kind one, walking closer to Kai. "Nightfall, and his sister, Dawnbreaker." He stated as he hovered a hand over the silver blade in Kai's left hand, not doing anything besides admiring it.

"Beautiful pieces, and ones that suit you well, dear Kai." Kai was puzzled. "You...aren't going to attack?" "Are you?" Evan asked as he took a step back, not enough to be out of reach of Nightfall, but creating just enough space for them to look into each other's eyes. Kai noticed during this little stand off, that Evan seemed to be tracing his markings with his eyes. "...Tracking markings, as well as..." He trailed off, and that bugged Kai. He clearly knew what these were, which was something that King Connor stated before he left that he could explain upon his return.

"...You know what these are?" Evan nodded his head. "But to tell you would break your heart, and I don't wish to do that." "...I..." Kai lowered his sword and shield, guard down, eyes on the floor. "You must be so confused." Evan spoke as he strode back into Kai's space, reaching up to cup one of his cheeks in his palm, lifting the younger man's head a little. "I'm not the cold, evil, tyrannical man Connor claims me to be; I have not harmed the people I brought with me. In fact, you might have noticed something that they don't have, that people back in your home do."

Kai gave Evan a puzzled look, until he remembered the two kids he saw on the way here.

The markings.

Neither child had markings like Kai did.

"...What did you do to their markings?" "Removed them, and freed the people I brought to my home." And there's that word again: brought. Not stolen, not taken: brought. "They came...willingly?" "Yes." His head was staring to hurt. "Come and take one look out over my kingdom, and then recall your own." "Why?" Evan's eyes firmed up a little bit, but in a hopeful way. "I want you to tell me who the real villain is." His words made his head hurt more, yet there was another pain. A pain in his chest, in his heart, like it knew what he was implying was already the truth.

Evan guided him to the large window where they could look over the whole of the town below and a large part of the kingdom he ruled over. The people were now out of their homes, some looking up at the castle, the rest milling about their lives. With no markings on their bodies, and...joyful smiles on their faces. But these were extremely different from the ones Kai can remember from his home; those face below him were of true, honest joy, where as the ones from his home were faked. They were hopeful that one day something would bring them real joy, not the masks they have to wear.

Mist started to cloud his eyes as he turned his gaze to lands past the castle and the town; yes, there was a few rough patches, but...

Evan's smile was soft, his eyes pleading for forgiveness. "...What are these markings?" "Slave markings, and your's are imbued with tracking magic; Gulyar's doing, judging by the pattern." "But...h-he told me that only  _you_ could use magic..!" "And I can, but he and most of his advisers can as well; here? It's just me." And Kai's world shattered around him. "King Connor Gulyar has been manipulating you all of your life, my dear Kai. He could tell from the moment you were born that you would be his best hope to remove me, a person he perceives as a threat to his 'perfect' kingdom.

"However, you now know the truth I have shown the people I  ** _saved_** when I had came all those months ago: he's nothing but a greedy man who enslaves his own people so he can use them however he sought fit for his own amusement, and could claim it was under his own benediction that the people he chose now have a 'better' life." Metal clattering echoed in the room as Kai shook hard. "He only knows that you've made it to my kingdom." Evan spoke, reaching up and gently wiping away a few tears that had slipped out of the younger man's eyes. "He also knows that I will fight to the death to protect my people and kingdom; if you'll allow me to, I can remove your markings, and as far as he'll know, you've died killing me."

Kai snapped his head to the man, so torn. "I-I had...heard a mother call me a demon when I arrived." "The news of your deeds, killing what few soldiers I had left, that I had sent to try and aid you in your journey, was something I wasn't going to keep from my people; keeping the populace subdued and ignorant never ends well if my kingdom is suddenly set siege to. In the past, the civilians have come up with the best tactics to survive such an assault, and I've rewarded them with more proper training and asked them to be the head of my soldiers, or my war tactician should the need ever arise." "And...these people...willingly accept?"

Evan nodded his head. "The people are fearful of you because they know you're being controlled, to some extent, by their old king. It won't happen over night, but they will no longer be afraid of you, and accept you once they see that you no longer have any bindings to Connor." Evan held out a hand to Kai. "Will you let me free you?" "...Please..." Kai hated how broken he sounded, but from the look in Evan's eyes, he understood why. It's not easy to have your entire world be flipped onto its head when the pure, honest truth is thrusted into your face, and you end up feeling so betrayed by the person you've killed people for.

Kai reached up and placed his hand into Evan's, feeling as the man pulled him a little closer. He closed his eyes as Evan's hands reached up for his face, feeling as he cradled both sides of his jaw in his hands, and then the warm tingle that followed. Even that was different than the magic he's felt back in his...home? It hurt now to think of that place as home, but back there, magic was always cold and foreign, it made him feel strange and left a sour taste in his mouth. Not Evan's magic. It was warm, and welcoming, and he could smell a faint vanilla scent coming from the air around them as it was used.

In a gently violent snap, Kai gasped as the markings were destroyed and...peace bolted through his body. Evan's quickly supported Kai's weight--and effortlessly too--as his knees buckled from under him, the now free man openly sobbing as he opened his eyes again. Kai clung to the man as he heard footsteps coming into the room. "Milord?" A female's voice spoke, a little worry it her tone. "It's alright, Abby. I'll see to him for now." "Yes, my King." He felt as Evan's chuckled softly. "My dear, how many times must I remind you that I don't wish to be referred to by such titles?" The woman giggled herself. "Forgive me, Vissec, I'm still so used to being under that bastard's rule."

"I understand, sweetheart." Kai tucked his face into Evan's neck as he scooped him up, a little ashamed that a woman saw him such a state, and felt as he was carried somewhere else in the castle. A door, a little hefty from the sound of it, was pushed open, and when Kai lifted his head, he saw that he was in a bed chamber. What caught his eye the fastest was the sheer size of the bed; it was ten times larger than the cot he had slept in while he was in training with King Connor's knights. He was placed in the middle of the bed, Kai spotting that Nightfall and Dawnbreaker were floating behind Evan for a moment before he curled two fingers forward and grabbed the items when they were next to him.

Evan moved around the bed and set the weapon and shield on the left side. "In case something, for some bizarre reason, were to happen." Evan stated as he started to undo the ties that held the drapes on the four-post bed back, keeping the one that would block Kai's reach of his weapons held up. The sound of thick rainfall started to pound on the window. "Ah, I was wondering when that storm would start."  _...Of course it was just a storm..._ What other reason would there be for such dark clouds to be over the castle?

"...You must have seen our little freak storm here form when you arrived, didn't you?" Kai just glanced away. "...Heh, it's alright. After what Connor had told you of me, it's understandable that you'd think it was my doing." The exhaustion slammed into Kai like a dragon's tail, his eyes almost instantly falling close. "Sleep, my dear Kai. Today has been very...overbearing for you to endure." Evan spoke as he threaded his fingers through Kai's hair and he felt right before he drifted to sleep the warmth of Evan's magic once more.


End file.
